The first taste of freedom: After historic SC judgment, a longer judgment awaits LGBTIQ communities

When I heard what happened in the Supreme Court on Thursday, I was in Bangkok, far away from India, at a United Nations meeting on comprehensive sexuality education where participants were discussing how to inculcate values for life and love in young persons so as to build more inclusive and accepting societies where diversity is respected and even celebrated, rather than persecuted and marginalised.

Yes, I admit it – I wept upon learning that key harmful clauses of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code are no more. I thanked the many heroes who brought us to this point, in one way or another, including those who fought the legal battles, as well as those who contributed in other ways – including my late, beloved brother Riyad whose BOMgAY (1996) was the first Indian gay-themed film, tackling the insidious impact of Section 377 via the hard-hitting yet tender poetry of R Raj Rao.

When I wiped away my tears and waded through the dozens of celebratory messages that poured in via WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the reality of what now lies ahead began to set in.

Many of the messages I received revelled in the fact that “gay sex” isn’t illegal any more. A few of them referred to the Supreme Court justices underscoring human rights and personal liberty and dignity as the context for the ruling. But today’s outcome in itself does not expand to wider issues of acceptance and genuine equality encompassed under the concepts of companionship, either via civil unions or marriage, including inheritance, family health insurance, hospital visitation rights and so many other less romantic yet important aspects of life that contribute to a holistic picture of domesticity.

I’m not throwing shade on the ruling. It is genuinely historic, a landmark that must be acknowledged for the milestone it is in the history of LGBTIQ rights in what still remains the world’s largest democracy. But let’s not be blind to the fact that every achievement or accomplishment brings with it the very real danger of backlash and intensified opposition.

We’ve seen this time and again on so many fronts in the global struggle for civil rights. Look no further than the United States – a country where I escaped to in the 1980s when I thought I could never find happiness as a gay man in India. Anti-sodomy laws impacted gay people in so many southern states, including Georgia where I lived, until the Supreme Court struck down the Texas law thereby negating all of the others.

Then, it wasn’t until years later that gay marriage became the law of the land, once again thanks to an enlightened US Supreme Court ruling and supported by a government that sought to expand civil liberties. But these and other sociocultural gains ended up triggering a violent counter-reaction, the fruits of which are being manifested under the current administration, with a new ultra-conservative jurist about to be approved by the Senate for a lifetime appointment at the Supreme Court – in all probability endangering civil rights gains, including those that apply to women, ethnic minorities and LGBTIQ people.

Once a long-marginalised or ostracised people have tasted a bit of freedom, they hunger for more of it – this is human nature. India’s LGBTIQ communities are currently savouring the fact that they’re no longer “criminals” in the eyes of the law. But that will in all likelihood not be enough. We will, probably sooner rather than much later, want to move towards full equality in all spheres, including civil unions and perhaps outright marriage – and rightly so.

And for that to happen, laws will need to be proposed and enacted and universally implemented across the country – something that the current government, reflecting sentiment in wider society as well, is apprehensive about, as we saw from the arguments laid out in court just weeks ago. (Incidentally, this scenario is being played out in Thailand as well, where I’m currently based – the government here is considering allowing same-sex civil unions but is grappling with how to address issues of inheritance, land or property ownership and other aspects that usually go hand-in-hand with marriage or something close to it.)

Then, don’t forget the vehement opposition mounted against the striking down of Section 377 – coalitions of religious leaders and factions, along with other arch-conservatives, warned that decriminalising us would lead to incest, bestiality and a general breakdown of civilization as we know it.

These aren’t new arguments either – much the same rhetoric is heard the world over in similar situations. But for every homophobe who froths at the mouth there are many decent people – often including our friends and families – who also harbour doubts about granting LGBTIQ individuals “full equality” – acceptance that more easily accepts diversity in strangers often erodes when it comes to one’s own. Changing hearts and minds in that sense will take a long while as well if the example of other countries is anything to go by.

While we enjoy our success and express our gratitude to all those who contributed to it (I’m lucky to count many of them as my friends), we should also regroup and strategise for the longer-term battle ahead – and yes, it will be a battle.

The good news though is that once there are laws in place to protect us — or laws that harm us are struck down — and once more and more of us come out to be counted, we can lead by example – and in so doing shape our lives and futures in a way that, until now, just hasn’t been possible.

The author works for the United Nations in Bangkok. He is married to Alan Hsiung, his partner of almost 30 years.